The conceit of Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series (Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged) is simple, but effective: Since 2006, YouTube user LittleKuriboh condenses one or more episodes of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters series into videos of between four to fourteen minutes that parody the content of the original show.[1] Rewriting the dialogue to include jokes, pop culture references, and moments of fourth-wall breaking, LittleKuriboh substitutes his own voice as the audio of his videos, where he plays nearly all of the characters, using vocal mannerisms that roughly approximate the voices of the Duel Monsters English dub.[2]

In the decade since its inception, Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged has become an internet culture touchstone. Some of its YouTube videos reach millions of views, its Facebook page sits at nearly 1 million likes, and the series has developed an extensive fandom surrounding “fanon,” the canon within LittleKuriboh’s fan creation.

The fandom and antifandom aspects and practices surrounding Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged are the focus of this essay. Namely, there are several ways that LittleKuriboh and Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged mediate fan interaction, both within the canon of Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged episodes as well as behind the scenes. Additionally, LittleKuriboh has developed varying relationships with fans and antifans of his series, as well as imitators of his form. The fandom aspect of Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged is significant because while LittleKuriboh’s series not only parodies the plot elements of the source material, it also has created its own internal series canon as a text in its own right that is consistently referenced and remediated in subsequent episodes. Classic lines such as “screw the rules, I have money,” delivered by Seto Kaiba in the show’s first episode, have become memes in the show and in the larger internet culture. LittleKuriboh has scripted later dialogue for Kaiba that riffs off the original quote, such as “screw the money, I have rules” (Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Movie, 2008) and “screw the rules, I have green hair,” (“… In America,” 2006), a reference to the character’s green hair in an earlier version of the anime. “Screw the [x], I have [y],” is to this day a popular meme and commonly referenced trope.[3]

Background

Though no longer released on a weekly basis, Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged has reached 74 episodes spanning four seasons of the original five-season run of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, and shows no signs of stopping. LittleKuriboh has also released two abridged movies (based on Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light from 2004[4] and Yu-Gi-Oh!: Bonds Beyond Time from 2010[5]) and countless supplementary videos, including “Let’s Play” videos starring Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged characters and Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged characters advocating for charity.

While the series is certainly well-known in the Yu-Gi-Oh! fandom, it is not universally loved by Yu-Gi-Oh! fans. The contentious relationships between and within the Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged and Duel Monsters fandoms have several incarnations: fans of Duel Monsters who resent the parodying and irreverent (and often offensive) content and interpretations of their beloved characters[6]; fans of both series (a category in which I include myself); fans of Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged who categorically hate the other fans of Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged for their perceived annoying behavior [7]; fans of Duel Monsters who dislike the fact that elements from Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged have become Duel Monsters accepted fanon and fandom practices, and so on.[8] With the use of memes originating from Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged becoming commonplace in online spaces, it has become increasingly difficult for antifans to avoid some sort of contact with Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged. Indeed, Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged has become so popular that voice actors of the original Yu-Gi-Oh dub have referenced various catch-phrases and lines from their abridged counterparts. For example, Wayne Grayson, the dub voice of Joey Wheeler quoted “Brooklyn rage,” at Youmacon 2008 [9], and took part in a panel with LittleKuriboh at Youmacon 2009, where both actors performed their versions of the character in conversation with one another.[10]

As the series’ popularity has grown, so has the form of the anime abridged series: nearly every well-known anime has been made into an abridged series. [11] Some are more prominent and successful than others, such as Naruto the Abridged Series [12] (created by YouTube users MasakoX and Vegeta3986) and Dragon Ball Z Abridged [13](created by Team Four Star, which includes YouTube users Lanipator, Takahata101, KaiserNeko, and MasakoX). At a certain point in time, it seemed as though every anime fan with a computer microphone, an ability to download footage, and time on their hands was making an abridged series, though none have reached the level of cultural saturation and establishment of LittleKuriboh’s original work.

Fanon and Thiefshipping

One of the more prominent ways the Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged canon has made itself at home within Duel Monsters fandom is with regards to the pairing of “Thiefshipping,”or the pairing of male villains Marik Ishtar and Yami Bakura.[14] While the original Duel Monsters English dub has little focus on romance, and skirts all potentially slash ships (or gay or lesbian relationships) as a rule, LittleKuriboh has largely created (or merely revitalized) the fanbase for this pairing, both within Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged episodes proper and in the context of side videos.[15]

For example, in the side series “Marik Plays Bloodlines,” begun in 2011, Marik plays “Vampire: The Masquerade” in the popular YouTube “Let’s Play” format.[16] Over the course of this series, Yami Bakura, who is also present, makes increasingly obvious sexual advances towards the oblivious Marik, providing endless shipping fodder for fans of this couple.[17] While Marik and Yami Bakura are not at all concerned with romance or sexuality in the original series, LittleKuriboh has reinvented Marik as naive, juvenile, and obsessed with his own sex appeal (an easy interpretation, given the character’s costume) and Yami Bakura as flamboyantly gay, with his attentions focused on Marik. Not only has Thiefshipping in the Duel Monsters canon become popular, with over 1,400 fanfics in the Fanfiction.net archive, but the fanon version of Thiefshipping [18], using the abridged characterizations created by LittleKuriboh, has also become a popular pairing in its own right.[19]

The pairing of “Puzzleshipping,” or Yami Yugi and Yugi Moto, has also been teased and expanded within the text of Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged.[20] For example, the 2015 episode “Puzzled Shipping,” [21] a clear reference to this ship name, features Yami Yugi and Yugi pulling a sword out of a block of ice, with the sounds of their efforts clearly meant to reference sexual activity. [22]

“It’s not as good as it used to be”

With many ongoing series across media there is often the perception that the work is decreasing in quality, and Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged is no exception.[23] Fan discussions reveal that some viewers of the show have found its humor obnoxious or less enjoyable than before. Indeed, a short comment thread on the “Headscratchers” TVTropes subpage for Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged contains the following comment:

“Am I the only one who thinks LK’s [LittleKuriboh’s] Marik schtick is getting rather old? I used to enjoy it, but pretty much every line out of his mouth now is either how he’s a poorly closeted homosexual, or how sexy he/his outfit looks.”[24]

In a comment thread on GameFaqs.com, a user asking for abridged series recommendations in 2013-2014 is told to watch Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged, “although lately it’s not as good as it used to be.”[25] A comment thread on Pojo.biz regarding episode 33 (“Harpoonshipping,” 2009) contains a litany of complaints, including “that was probably one of the worst abridged episodes I have ever seen,” “he made an episode around his own OLD joke. TAS used to be awesome because it made fun of the series. Now he’s… out of material and trying to make fun of himself and taking it too far,” and “it’s a pity that entertainment becomes crap over time, and this is like the 60th episode. How will he handle the remaining 180 is beyond me.”[26] A 2016 Reddit thread comparing various abridged series contains the following illuminating comment: “I don’t enjoy it because it encourages blinding nostalgia. […] Also, the jokes are really rather lame, and the only good jokes are now obnoxious memes for thirteen year olds,” [27] highlighting the divide between fans of the original and of the abridged series in stark contrast.

Fans as Obstacles, Fans as Friends

LittleKuriboh’s behavior with regards not only to fans and antifans, but also towards creators of subsequent abridged series, has gradually shifted over the course of Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged’s existence. Earlier Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged episodes and content tended to mock the fanbase, with thinly veiled shots taken at those who have flagged his videos on YouTube, leading them to be taken down. In episode 24 (“Egyptian Exhibition Expo 2007,” 2007), Seto Kaiba claims to be busy flagging YouTube videos “to compensate for the fact that [he has] an extremely small penis.” [28]

In episode 48 (“Penguin Ex Machina,” 2010), Téa Gardner weathers an attack by strange monsters referred to as “internet trolls;” she expresses apprehension and worries that “they’re going to flame me to death.” [29] LittleKuriboh also expresses his frustration with fans’ insatiable demand for new episodes in a side series of videos by choosing to have several of the monster creatures that appear needlessly scream “where’s the new episode?” in an annoying, endless fashion. [30]

Most significantly, LittleKuriboh created a side video in 2008 to address his perception of his imitators called “Dan Green Presents Abridging 101,” where he brandishes a Yami Yugi plush toy and sardonically lays out a codified set of steps for fans to make their own abridged series.[31] Using the hypothetical example of a Neon Genesis Evangelion abridged series, LittleKuriboh suggests that plagiarism, using computer programs to create different voices, and substituting musical cues for writing jokes will bring aspiring abridgers success, as well as “get[ting] lazy” and taking absurd amounts of time between making videos, which serves as both a moment of self-critique and a call-out to the fans for having unrealistic expectations.[32] Much of the sarcasm in this video has gone over the heads of fans, however: several of the comments on the YouTube video reference how the commenter found LittleKuriboh’s advice helpful in creating their own work.

In another side video, a 2009 song parody of Eminem’s “Without Me,” titled “Without Yugi,” LittleKuriboh raps about the inception and early years of Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged in the voice of Yugi, concluding a verse with the following:

And while he’s not the first one to fandub Yugi

He is the first one that’s not a newbie

To make the show seem kinda funny

Though it doesn’t make him any money

(HEY!) There’s a concept that’s broke!

Twenty million other users steal his jokes

But no matter how many imitate LK

It won’t change the fact that he’s here to stay [33]

In more recent years and in more recent content, however, LittleKuriboh takes a more playful and even welcoming attitude towards fellow abridgers and a more apathetic one towards his critics. LittleKuriboh has now done guest voices on Dragon Ball Z Abridged and become a permanent member of the collective that makes the show [34], invited fellow abridgers to do voices on Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged beginning with episode 47 (“Beyond the Fourth Wall,” 2010) [35], and also created Naruto: The Abridged Comedy Fandub Spoof Series Show [36], a parody of Naruto the Abridged Series, itself one of the older abridged series on YouTube. The Comedy Fandub Spoof Series Show, begun in 2009, now has nine episodes and an abridged movie based on the Naruto feature film, Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (released in English in 2007). [37]

LittleKuriboh seems to have warmed to the idea that there is now, for better or for worse, a bona fide YouTube abridged series community, whose celebrities include LittleKuriboh and the members of Team Four Star. Rather than highlighting trolls or particularly strong fan reactions, LittleKuriboh’s meta-humor has of late become more self-deprecating, acknowledging fan complaints in a less combative way. A dialogue exchange in episode 67 (“Toon Pangs,” 2016) provides a good example:

Tristan: I can’t believe we’re in London! The Tower Bridge sure is pretty!

Téa: Tristan, you know full well that’s the Golden Gate Bridge.

Tristan: Don’t be ridiculous. Magneto killed that bridge in X-Men 3: The Last Stand.

Joey: Yeah, Téa. Too soon.

Yugi: Eh, that bridge is overrated. It takes too long to get anywhere. And it’s not even that funny.

Yami: As Pharaoh, I created the original bridge. It was terrible and barely worked. But it was the only one around, so everyone loved it. [38]

Additionally, a 2012 tweet from LittleKuriboh cannily addresses the endless fan refrain about the perceived decrease in quality of his series: “I want to make ‘Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged has sucked since…’ into a thing now.” [39]

LittleKuriboh has used the same concept of substituting dialogue about “bridges” for discussing the state of abridged series as a whole in his Naruto the Abridged Series parody. In episode five of this series (“MILKSHAKE NO JUTSU~!” 2010), the characters Naruto and “Joekage” (based on the Hokage from Naruto proper) discuss the creation and spread of the abridged series as a medium in the following exchange, using Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged, Naruto the Abridged Series, and Dragon Ball Z Abridged as lightly disguised examples:

Joekage: Personally I don’t see what’s so important about a bridge. I mean, come on. First one guy [LittleKuriboh] makes a bridge [Yu-Gi-Oh Abridged]. And everybody uses it, they’re like, “Ooh, look, a bridge. That’s new.” So, like, these other two guys [MasakoX and Vegeta3986] make another bridge [Naruto the Abridged Series]. And it’s kinda like the first one, but people use it anyway because the first guy is like “Oh, their bridge is pretty cool too, check it out.” And then these three other guys [Team Four Star] are like, “Oh, we’re going to make the best bridge ever [Dragon Ball Z Abridged], we’re going to combine our talents and be like, ‘Oh, look at our bridge, it’s totally amazing, ooh.’” and it’s like, it turns out really good, and it’s the best out of all the other bridges. Everybody subscribes to it.

Naruto: Subscribes to it?!

Joekage: I mean er… Everybody crosses it. Because it’s a bridge. Yeah. And before you know it everybody and their mother is making a bridge! So there’s a bridge. Everywhere… Nobody even knows why they’re making a bridge anymore. They just want people to cross it. They don’t care where they’re going. The first guy is like, “I’m going to go to conventions to promote my bridge!” It’s like, it’s just a bridge. It’s not a big deal. Get over it. [40]

In a conversation with LittleKuriboh conducted over Facebook in April 2016, I roughly confirmed that the “three other guys” mentioned in Joekage’s speech refers to Team FourStar; in his own words, LittleKuriboh replied to my question by saying “probably,” remarking that he made the video a long time ago. Additionally, in an interview I conducted with LittleKuriboh in 2013, he refers to Team FourStar as “good friends.”[41] Thus, in the years since he made the “Dan Green Presents Abridging 101” video, we can conclude that LittleKuriboh’s relationship to his admirers and fellow users of the abridged series medium has gotten much more positive.

Beyond Children’s Card Games

While LittleKuriboh has stayed out of using his series to address larger geopolitical or societal issues, a noteworthy exception was made on November 10th, 2016, in the wake of the presidential election. In a video simply titled “processing” [42], LittleKuriboh takes a snippet from a particularly tragic scene in the source material where Yugi loses his soul in a duel. In the original sequence, Yugi’s alter ego Yami has become despondent after Yugi’s soul is lost, and only manages to snap out of his misery when Joey grabs him forcefully and yells at him. LittleKuriboh maintains the spirit of the original text while substituting his own dialogue that on one level addresses the aftermath of the duel but is also clearly meant to be a rallying cry to his viewer base begging them not to lose hope in the wake of the election.

Yami: No matter how much you all hoped, no matter how much you believed, none of it was enough. I wasn’t enough. I have failed, and all hope is lost. We should all just give up. I should just—

Joey: (grabbing Yami by the collar and throwing him to the ground) Snap out of it, Yug! […] It’d be real easy to give up right now, to turn on each other and ourselves and just throw in the towel, but the truth is sometimes the person you want to win doesn’t win. And it makes you confused, angry, full of feelings that have been amplified ‘cos it feels like the loss to end all losses. But win or lose, this is not the end. We can’t give in to despair. We can’t look at this and say “well, it’s time to cry and hate and lash out and give up.” We have to be true to what we always fought for: love, unity, honor. None of those things have been destroyed, so we gotta hold to that. We have to take a breath, congratulate the other guy, and accept every loss and victory from now on with grace, no matter what fear might tell us. It’s too soon to know how things will play out, but we can’t just lose hope in ourselves or each other. So stand up. Stand beside me and everyone else who ever loved you, because we do. We love you, and we keep walking forward together.

In a bizarre and unexpected twist, the comments on the video are full of similarly worded sentiments, with fewer trolls present than expected. [43]

Conclusion

Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series has demonstrated over ten years a constantly changing relationship with not only the original source material and the fans and antifans of the project, but also with countless YouTube users and potential abridgers hungry for internet fame. LittleKuriboh’s creation has not only begun a genre in and of itself, but its ten-year existence allows for many opportunities to observe and remark upon the changes that have arisen between content creators and fans; these changes have since spilled over into more established forms of media such as feature films and broadcast television, and promise to continually restructure the paradigm of how consumers and creators engage with one another.

Deborah Krieger is an arts and culture writer who can’t believe she got to write about Yu-Gi-Oh! in multiple academic settings. She can be found at @DebOnTheArts on both Twitter and Instagram, and runs her own blog at i-on-the-arts.com.

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Does prolonged exposure to The Doctor have a negative effect on a companion? Part one of this discussion explored the companions of the Russell T. Davies era. After the Tenth Doctor regenerated, the show also appointed a new showrunner. Steven Moffat took the reins and gave the Eleventh/Twelfth Doctor’s companion more importance than ever.

Amy (& Rory) and Eleven

The Eleventh Doctor started his incarnation with a burning TARDIS, which landed in the yard of his next companion Amelia “Amy” Pond. Out of all the modern companions, The Doctor and Amy’s relationship spans the longest amount of time in Earth years, but their TARDIS time together wasn’t continual. Amelia was seven years old and praying to Santa Claus for help with a mysterious crack in her wall. Her prayers for a policeman were answered when a newly regenerated and very alien incarnation of The Doctor showed up. The Doctor told her to wait a few minutes while he took the newly repaired TARDIS for a test run.

He inadvertently returns 12 years later and discovers that Amelia has grown up to become Amy Pond, a teenager who works as a kissogram. Amy was ostracized by most people in her community because of her belief in a magic “raggedy man” who travels in a blue box. As a child, she only spent a couple of hours with The Doctor, but he had a profound influence over her life. She wrote stories and made drawings about The Doctor, often sharing them with her childhood friend Rory Williams. Amy felt abandoned by The Doctor (and her dead parents), so she built up an emotional wall around herself and didn’t allow anyone to get too close to her, including Rory, by adulthood her fiance.

After saving the world in 20 minutes, Amy has to wait another two years for him to return again but finally gets her overdue chance to travel in the TARDIS. The first couple of stories featuring Amy showed her being reckless and making impulsive decisions without thinking about the consequences. For example, “The Beast Below,” Amy is on her first adventure and proudly ignores all “Keep Out” signs as she digs into trouble. But, her intelligence shines as she helps Winston Churchill and Professor Bracewell save the world from being exposed to an army of Daleks by tapping into their emotions.

Amy’s backstory and unique relationship with The Doctor as the first companion to meet him as a child made her different from her young contemporaries who had heart eye emojis for the Time Lord. But, that didn’t mean she wasn’t attracted to The Doctor. After several adventures together, including a brush with the Weeping Angels, Amy tried to physically seduce The Doctor when he returned her home on the eve of her wedding to Rory. The Eleventh Doctor counters this by inviting Rory into the TARDIS.

Unlike Rose, Amy was not as possessive over her turf in the TARDIS and welcomed Rory without a grudge.

However, their adventures began to test Amy’s relationships with both The Doctor and Rory. In “Amy’s Choice,” the trio found themselves faced with different alternate realities – one where Amy and Rory established a normal married life and another with The Doctor. The baddie in the story, Dream Lord, secluded Amy and asked her to choose between Rory or an adventurous life with The Doctor. In the end, she killed herself in one of the realities because of her love for Rory. This episode was a pivotal breakthrough in terms of her personal development and the trajectory of her relationship with Rory. Amy discovered the power in her choices, the deepness of her love for Rory, and the value of her life both with and without The Doctor.

Amy’s love for Rory was the grounding force in her life that helped her not become too wrapped up in The Doctor’s world. Amy admired The Doctor, but she also got to see Rory’s valiant qualities develop and appreciated what he brought to the team. Their ability to travel together with The Doctor brought them closer together because of their shared experience. When Rory was beginning to be wiped away from existence in “Cold Blood,” the Doctor tried to have Amy hold onto memories of him but she lost concentration and didn’t remember him. The Doctor shouldered significant guilt over losing Rory and continued to take Amy on adventures.

As they became a duo again, Amy and The Doctor’s similarities made them an interesting team. They were eccentric and adventurous, which made for lots of laughs and chemistry. Both of them shouldered some of the weight from their pasts but they learned how to become more open with their emotions. Viewers began to see a less guarded Amy who expressed a myriad of emotions as she met the tragic Vincent Van Gogh and reunited with Rory in “The Pandorica Opens” after he waits for her for 2,000 years. Amy was stubborn, loyal, and fiercely determined to find a solution – both strong traits needed to survive with The Doctor. However, she always managed to find balance in her life and started the beginning of season six leading a normal life with Rory. It was the first time in modern Who that a companion wasn’t “all in” and tried to balance two worlds. Amy seemed to have it all – love, happiness, and adventure.

Amy’s arc with The Doctor became complex than previous modern Who companions. Fans watched The Doctor leave a message for Amelia to search for Amy and release her from the Pandorica. Amy became a woman who was kidnapped by Madame Kovarian, a leader of the Silence movement, and gave birth to a child conceived in the TARDIS who was half-human/half-Time Lord. Amy’s daughter was brainwashed by Kovarian to kill The Doctor. In, “A Good Man Goes to War,” the child turned out to be River Song, the woman known as The Doctor’s wife and Amy’s childhood friend in a previous incarnation. The Doctor also broke Amy’s faith in him in “The God Complex” when they faced a foe who killed by feeding on a person’s faith. This was an emotional ride for her character because she had always had agency in her travels with The Doctor and now things were happening to her which were beyond her control. Amy went through a myriad of emotions during this time – shock from finding out the Doctor’s part-time lover was her daughter, anger over her child being ripped away from her, and sadness because she didn’t have the chance to raise her child. River and The Doctor tried to comfort Amy and explain that River’s previous incarnation, Melody aka “Mel,” was raised by Amy because she often guided her as they grew up together. Once again, there was guilt on The Doctor’s side because he was the primary reason behind Amy’s kidnapping and River’s life as a trained assassin. However, Amy was not going to remain broken and exacted her revenge against Madame Kovarian for corrupting River, telling her that River got her cunning nature from her mother.

As their time goes on, Amy and Rory started to travel infrequently with the Doctor in favor of maintaining a normal life. However, they couldn’t manage to permanently break ties with The Doctor, who had become attached to the couple. After The Doctor helped them save the world from mysterious cubes in “The Power of Three,” Rory’s father encouraged them to continue their travels as long as The Doctor brought them back safe. Unfortunately, the married couple would never return to their normal lives, due to Rory being touched by a weeping angel, a predatory alien race which resembles statues, in the following episode. The Weeping Angels were known for creeping up on a victim in the literal blink of an eye and sending them back to the past to die as they consumed the person’s future energy. “The Angels of Manhattan” saw Amy and Rory once again making an executive decision without the Doctor. They committed to create a paradox and destroy the Angels. Their plan worked, but one last Angel took Rory back to the past in front of Amy, River, and The Doctor. Amy had to make a choice and she allowed herself to be touched by the same angel so she could die with Rory in the past. Amy remained married to Rory and became a successful writer, thereby still having a great life. She had autonomy on how she ended her travels with The Doctor, even though she broke his heart.

Amy’s long tenure in The TARDIS proved that a companion could travel with The Doctor long term and experience inconceivable trials but the story could still end with a semi-happy ending for the traveler.

Clara and Eleven

Losing Amy and Rory emotionally rattled the Eleventh Doctor, prompting him to go into hiding until he met a mysterious woman named Clara Oswin Oswald from 19th century London. The Doctor was sulking in his TARDIS in the cloud until Clara brilliantly passed a one word test administered by his friend Madame Vastra to earn his help. He was woken up out of his emotional slumber by this woman from days past who is as dashing and driven as he was before losing his friends. The plot thickens when she died at the end and he discovered her name is the same as a woman he met (but never saw) in an earlier adventure with Amy. From that point forward, he was curious about why versions of this woman keep popping up across time and set out to find the modern version of Clara.

When the contemporary Clara Oswald first meets The Doctor in “The Bells of Saint John,” she wanted nothing to do with the bizarre Doctor. This version of Clara was also resourceful and helped The Doctor bring down the Great Intelligence’s plan to upload people’s souls through an alien Wi-fi network. She took on traveling with The Doctor out of pure wanderlust and curiosity and he was intrigued by the mysterious woman. Clara was a woman who seemed secure in her life, yet her background was much more of a mystery than her predecessors. Each adventure slowly chipped away at Clara’s true identity, revealing in their second adventure (“The Rings of Akhaten”) that The Doctor was at her mother’s funeral. When she questioned him about it, he said she reminded him of a friend who died and Clara became upset, calling him out for using her as a replacement. She leaves the TARDIS but they soon reconcile.

Like Martha, Clara did not need The Doctor to help her find purpose or to validate her importance.

The school teacher was relatively smart and a loner, but there was not a lot of development for Clara in her first season, so fans knew she would her story would take time. In “The Name of the Doctor,”she had different versions of herself helping all of the past Doctors (excluding the War Doctor), thereby making her the “Impossible Girl.” This (sort of) made her the longest running companion in the show and the only one who had experience with all of the Doctors. The big mystery was solved and Clara’s cleverness was appreciated, but her character progression in the TARDIS was still unclear. She was there and going on adventures, but she didn’t seem to be changing in any way.

Clara played an important role in the Eleventh Doctor’s final story “The Time of The Doctor.” After attempts to send Clara back to Earth to protect her as he fought thousands of alien enemies on Trenzalore, The Doctor was aging quickly and expected to die because he had no regenerations left. Clara spoke up and defended him to the Time Lords, begging them to help The Doctor by granting him another set of regenerations. It worked and The Doctor was able to stop the war using his regeneration energy. Interestingly, as The Doctor gives his final soliloquy before regeneration, it was a vision of Amy Pond he sees, but he wishes Clara well. He abruptly becomes the Twelfth Doctor, leaving Clara stunned and confused. This was the second time that a regeneration takes place in front of a companion and it once again had an interesting affect on the companion/Doctor relationship.

Clara and Twelve

The Twelfth Doctor’s first series with Clara was a difficult, yet necessary journey in terms of both character’s development. The Doctor had become a man starkly different from the gangly, eccentric one he was as Eleven. Twelve started his journey as an aesthetically older, darker man whom Clara found it hard to bond with because she wanted the old Doctor back. In their first story, he tended to insult and confuse Clara but she still believed in his ability to save her if she was in distress. At the end of the episode, she got a phone call from the Eleventh Doctor shortly before their last encounter, who encouraged her to stay with him.

As trouble brewed with a mysterious woman named Missy, Clara found herself increasingly frustrated with the Twelfth Doctor and his extreme lack of a moral compass. She became a much more opinionated, outspoken companion and frequently challenged The Doctor’s choices. At the same time, she begins to fall in love with a fellow teacher and ex-military man named Danny Pink. As she slowly built a relationship with The Doctor, she struggled to balance her romance with Danny. When The Doctor came to Coal Hill School as a caretaker, Danny found himself caught up in the action and was shocked at how Clara fearlessly plunged into dangerous situations.

“I know men like him. I’ve served under them. They push you and make you stronger until you’re doing things you never thought you could. I saw you tonight. You did exactly what he told you, you weren’t even scared, and you should have been.” -Danny Pink

Danny warns her to let him know if The Doctor started to push her too far. However, Danny also said he would leave her if she didn’t tell him the truth because he wanted to “help” her. This made his offer as a supportive shoulder an issue because 1) Clara didn’t ask to be protected from her decisions and 2) giving her an ultimatum made Danny as problematic as The Doctor. After admitting her love for Danny, Clara’s relationship with The Doctor took a dramatic turn in ‘Kill the Moon” when he abandoned her and one of her students at a lunar colony, forcing her to make a decision about whether she should kill a creature emerging from the moon or allow it to live. Clara felt as though The Doctor had pushed her too far and took solace in Danny, telling the Doctor to never come back to her again. Danny asks her to leave The Doctor alone, but Clara is far too addicted to the thrills of time travel and ends up lying to both men so she can lead a double life. She was being pulled in two different directions and felt like she had to constantly lie and sneak to have what she wanted in life.

The Doctor’s imprint on Clara is perhaps the strongest yet as she took on many of his traits. She acted as The Doctor in “Flatline” when he became stuck in his TARDIS, using the sonic screwdriver and a companion named Risgy to solve the mystery. And, when she decided tell Danny more about her life in the TARDIS, he died in a car accident. She turns on The Doctor and starts throwing his TARDIS keys into lava in an attempt to make him change the past. “Dark Water” shows how The Doctor’s dark, manipulative side is reflected in Clara as she lured him to a volcano and put a sleep patch on his neck. He refused to go back and save Danny, citing a time paradox. The Doctor reversed the sleep patch on her and was hurt by her betrayal of him, but he continued to help her try to locate Danny in the afterlife. It was a selfish and cruel move by Clara, who showed no remorse for her actions against The Doctor.

At the conclusion of the series, Clara is furious over Missy orchestrating Danny’s death and attempts to murder her, but The Doctor insists on doing it himself to protect Clara. The Doctor assumes Danny has been saved and declares he is going to return to Gallifrey, but Danny is still deceased. Clara chooses to lie to The Doctor again and allows him to leave partially from her guilt about how she treated The Doctor over Danny. Constant lies to protect someone’s knowledge or spare feelings has been a trait of The Doctor and now Clara was using his own tricks against him. Series 8 gave fans the character development they requested and showed a darker, more conniving side of Clara Oswald. The Doctor and Clara reunited for a Christmas adventure, where Clara found herself under the spell of a dream crab. After defeating the dream crabs, Clara’s interest in traveling with The Doctor became renewed and they began a new chapter in their relationship.

Series 9 Clara showed Clara becoming dangerously immersed in her adventures with The Doctor. After a rocky period, the pair had found their rhythm and Clara held her own even better than before as she came face to face with Missy on her own. The Doctor starts leaving her to her own devices more often and she does well each time, easily leading groups and solving complex situations. But, her behavior became increasingly risky as she starts to take more chances alongside The Doctor, forgetting that she was still mortal while he had a new set of regenerations. Her faith in The Doctor also played a role in her impulsive behavior because she assumed he would always find a way to save her if she was in distress. She was starting to play a dangerous game that was noticeable to The Doctor, who kept telling her to exercise more care with her actions.

Clara starts to challenge the Doctor less when it mattered the most. For example, his decision to bring a young woman named Ashildr/Me back to life who would be the cause of his separation from Clara. After battling Zygons, sleep dust, and a myriad of other creatures, Clara met her demise in “Face the Raven.” In an attempt to save Risgy, she took the deadly Chronolock and placed it on the back of her neck, assuming either she or The Doctor would find a way to rectify her impulsive action. The Doctor and Clara discovered it was orchestrated by Ashildr/Me and there was no way to save her. The Doctor wanted to take revenge on Ashildr, but Clara convinced him to not do it and allow her to face the consequences of her actions.

Clara’s death was the first one for a companion in the new series and was a reminder of what can happen when a companion has too much faith in The Doctor.

Clara was suffering from the traumatic loss of Danny, and she paid the price with her life. Her loss was shocking to many fans, but the blow was lessened when The Doctor forces the Time Lords use an extraction chamber to retrieve Clara from her time of death. He hoped to take her far away, but he had to remove Clara’s memories to help her survive. However, in one last act of Doctorish defiance, Clara altered the device so The Doctor lost his memory of their time together. In the end, Clara partnered with Ashildr in her own TARDIS and decided to take the long way around to Gallifrey – a fitting end for the most Doctorish companion of all.

Twelve and Bill (and beyond?)

Now, the Twelfth Doctor is on an adventure with a new companion, Bill Potts. Series 10 is only a few episodes in, but Bill has quickly become a fan favorite. She’s a Black queer woman who constantly questions The Doctor. They share a student/teacher relationship and Bill is well developed despite her short tenure so far. It is unclear if Bill is in it for the long run or if she will leave after one season like Martha Jones, but fans are interested to see how her arc will run. Like her predecessors, time may have a negative effect on her development as a woman, or she might find herself having it all in the end like Amy Pond. And, with Chris Chibnall taking the reins over the show in 2018, something unprecedented may happen with Bill. Either way, the companion journey with The Doctor is imperfect, impossible, frustrating, liberating, and fantastic.

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The British show Doctor Who centers on the titular character The Doctor, and his adventures through time and space in his 1950s police box / time machine, the TARDIS. Doctor Who captured the hearts of the British television audience as they watched The Doctor battle otherworldly foes and liberate lands across the universe. Now Doctor Who is a BBC juggernaut and worldwide phenomenon.

One of the key factors to Doctor Who’s success is The Doctor’s ability to regenerate his body when he is fatally wounded. This has allowed over a dozen actors to step into the Doctor’s shoes and put their own unique spin on each incarnation of the character. The different iterations of The Doctor are often referred to by the order of their appearance (First through Twelfth) and each version has developed his own iconic traits. Throughout the series, each Doctor has had a rotating cast of fellow travelers (commonly known as companions) to join him in his exploits.

The companion role was designed to be an audience surrogate so viewers have a person to identify with in the TARDIS. Each companion is as different as The Doctor with different personalities, strengths, and backgrounds. Differences aside, Doctor Who companions are able to live the average Whovian’s dream. They are journalists, mechanics, or food service workers dragging through an uneventful life and waiting for the day when something magical happens. Then, one day their lives are sent on a different trajectory via an encounter with an incredible, mysterious man known as The Doctor. They learn about the TARDIS – a bigger on the inside space with the ability to travel almost anywhere in space and time. And he senses something special in them and offers a chance to leave the daily grind for a life amongst the stars. Of course, they say yes and their lives are never the same again.

The life of a companion sounds enviable, but traveling with The Doctor has negative effects. The Doctor is captivating, but he is also dangerous. He is a virtually immortal Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey who has been involved in countless battles with death and destruction. He often holds millions of lives in his hands and has the ability to alter past events. He steps into situations and appoints himself as an authoritative figure and everyone follows because of his ruthless reputation in the universe.

Rapper Kanye West once said “No one man should have all that power” – a phrase which applies to The Doctor.

He can sometimes become calculating and impetuous as he makes decisions based on his moral code, which often differs from what most humans would do. At first, The Doctor brings out the best in his companions and they begin to challenge their preconceived notions about the universe. But, as they spend time together, some companions change in unanticipated ways. Unhealthy bonds begin to develop between the two and brings an interesting question to mind – does prolonged, consistent exposure to The Doctor have a negative effect on a companion?

When examining this question, there are a few obvious factors to consider. The companion’s personality type and circumstances versus The Doctor they are paired with makes a profound difference on how the character develops as a companion. And, a companion who witnesses his regeneration will experience a shift in the companion/Doctor dynamic.

Nine and Rose

The Russell T. Davies era (2005-2010) featured several women (and a few supporting men) who were fortunate enough to travel with The Doctor. Rose Tyler, the first companion in the modern series, met The Doctor as a 19-year-old working in a clothing shop. She was like most women her age – restless, impulsive, and desiring something more. The first story of the new series, “Rose,” introduced her before The Doctor and showed a day in her life. She woke up, went to work, ate lunch with her boyfriend Mickey, went back to work, and was preparing to go home when a chance encounter changed her life. Rose was chosen to take a nightly deposit downstairs at the end of her shift when she ran into The Doctor. She was somewhat terrified by by him but she jumped into action and helped him save the world from the Autons. Rose was unexpectedly faced with the choice of running away in the TARDIS or staying behind to take care of her boyfriend and mother. At first, she declined out of fear, but The Doctor persisted and her curiosity got the best of her as she sprinted into the TARDIS. Before she left, she told Mickey thanks for nothing and disappeared in the TARDIS. It was a mean spirited way to leave, however it’s easy to see how a person could be caught up in an emotional wave after meeting The Doctor. Rose had obvious affection for Mickey, but he seemed like a blithering, skittish idiot next to the dashing Doctor.

Rose and the Ninth Doctor spent one season of the show together, but the actual amount of her timeline with him is up for debate. Their first two adventures in the TARDIS seemed like only a matter of hours for the pair, but on Earth it was over a year before Rose returned in “Aliens of London.” Her mother Jackie Tyler, was upset and did not trust The Doctor after he took Rose away for a year, leading her to believe that Rose had died or been kidnapped. Mickey was accused of her murder and ostracized by the community, yet he didn’t tell anyone about Rose running off with The Doctor. Both Mickey and Jackie forgave Rose for her impulsive decision. Rose had some remorse for leaving them and thought about staying with her family. Mickey proved himself an asset to The Doctor in “World War Three” with his computer hacking skills and was offered a spot in the TARDIS, but he declined. At this point, Rose encouraged Mickey to come along, but The Doctor pretended he was a “liability” so Rose wouldn’t discover Mickey’s fear of time travel.

Rose’s relationship with Mickey and Jackie became strained due to conflicting feelings about her association with The Doctor. There is no sign of an official breakup between Rose and Mickey, so he continues to treat Rose like his girlfriend. Mickey is justifiably jealous of The Doctor, but he doesn’t want to feel like he is holding her back. Jackie is proud of Rose’s actions to save the world and is willing to learn more about The Doctor. But some of her suspicions about The Doctor having an unhealthy influence on Rose are not far fetched. In the same episode, Rose gets a phone call from The Doctor and tells him that her mom wants to do dinner with him. He abruptly refuses and tells Rose she has two choices – stay there or hop back into the TARDIS. His ultimatum further widened rift between Rose and her home life. She doesn’t hesitate and starts packing her clothes, prompting her mom to ask her to stay. Rose’s father Pete had passed away when she was a baby, so Jackie fears losing her daughter to dangerous time travel if something happened to The Doctor. Rose’s taste of traveling had her hooked, so she made the choice to leave again. The choice made sense for Rose – she didn’t believe she had a future on Earth and for the first time she felt like she mattered. She talked Nine out of murdering a Dalek, one of the Doctor’s archenemies, in cold blood and connected with women in service positions to help them through trouble.

Rose’s great qualities – her compassion, adventurous spirit, and practical thinking – became magnified in her travels and was a needed asset for the emotionally broken Ninth Doctor. Rose’s companionship brought him back from a dark place and forced him to come to terms with his feelings. She often challenged The Doctor’s decisions and his war hardened exterior began to soften as she brought happiness back into his life.

However, Rose was often selfish in her interactions with her loved ones. After returning to Earth in “Boom Town,” Rose called Mickey to the TARDIS to bring her passport and they made plans to grab food and a hotel room. She spent her time with Mickey talking about her travels with The Doctor, which prompted Mickey to tell her that he was dating someone else. Rose became upset with him for spontaneously dropping her for another woman, which was ironic considering she had done the same thing to him. He says things were happy between them before The Doctor and he made her feel like he meant nothing. Suddenly, trouble ensued and Rose ran off toward The Doctor without thinking of Mickey until long after the problem had been solved. She realized Mickey deserved better than her and sadly left with The Doctor. Rose’s epiphany showed a bit of maturity on her part, but her desire for those around her to stay frozen in place for her return was unrealistic.

Rose’s final episode with Nine, “The Parting of Ways” is a battle between the positive character development she gained with Nine and her continued loyalty to him at the expense of Mickey and Jackie. She was willing to risk her life to help The Doctor face a Dalek fleet, but he made the tough choice to activate the emergency program to return her to Earth in the TARDIS. A hologram of The Doctor explained that he will more than likely die and the TARDIS can never return to him again. Rose was heartbroken and frantically tried to make the TARDIS take her back. Mickey heard the sound of the TARDIS and despite their negative last encounter, came rushing to comfort Rose. Jackie and Mickey tried to reason with her and believed the Doctor made a wise choice because he cared about her life. Rose became upset and countered their thoughts with perhaps her most poignant quote in the series.

“It was a better life. And I don’t mean all the traveling and seeing aliens and spaceships and things..that don’t matter. The Doctor showed me a better way of living your life. (To Mickey:) You know he showed you too. You don’t just give up, you don’t just let things happen, you make a stand, you say no, you have the guts to do what’s right when everyone else runs away.” – Rose Tyler

Rose surmised a brilliant plan to break into the heart of the TARDIS in hopes that it would send her back to The Doctor. Mickey said she would die if she left and she told him it was a risk she was willing take because there was “nothing” for her on Earth. Mickey was hurt by her words, but he and Jackie helped her with the plan and she absorbed the energy from the time vortex, which allowed her to travel back to The Doctor. It was an incredibly selfless act for Mickey, who had to watch a woman he loved disappear and potentially not return to save the man she left him for. And, Jackie had to deal with the prospect of losing her only child in a war. Rose gained the power to disintegrate the entire Dalek army and save The Doctor and Captain Jack Harkness, a Time Agent from the 51st century who met Rose/Nine in an earlier episode. Jack had become a recurring traveler and was murdered by the Daleks until Rose brought him back to life and made him immortal. However, the time vortex was too much for her human mind, so The Doctor kissed her to transfer the energy into his own body. He soon regenerated into the Tenth Doctor and Rose’s journey with him started a new chapter.

Tenth and Rose

The Tenth Doctor and Rose became one of the most popular pairings on the show for several reasons. The Doctor had regenerated into a man who complemented Rose both aesthetically and personality wise. He was charismatic, dashing, and witty yet he still had an underbelly of fire and rage that showed he was the same Time Lord. Their star crossed lovers storyline captured the hearts of Whovians who enjoyed the newfound romantic element in the series. Her initial distrust of the new Doctor quickly grew into her becoming more enamored with his attractive incarnation as they set off among the stars. It was at this point where Rose’s personality began to change. “Tooth and Claw” took Ten and Rose back to 1879, where they run into Queen Victoria. She thought a fallen tree on her original travel route would lead to an assassination attempt, so she stayed at Torchwood Estate – the home of Sir Robert MacLeish. The Doctor used psychic paper to convince her that he was a doctor of medicine and he traveled alongside Rose to the estate. They discovered that Torchwood Estate was hijacked by monks who have brought a man infected with lycanthropy to pass the infection on through royal blood via the Queen. Ten and Rose were annoying throughout the episode, making rude remarks about the house guest’s heirloom from his father and trying to make jokes in front of a very scared (and suspicious) Queen Victoria.

They stayed at odds with Queen Victoria throughout the episode and she became very annoyed over their excitement about a deadly werewolf in the estate. After giving them royal titles for saving her life, she banned them from the British empire. The Queen told them they consorted with darkness and thought it was fun, but their travels would have consequences. Their actions and smug attitudes caused Queen Elizabeth to form Torchwood, an organization designed to eliminate alien threats which would play a role in their separation later in the season. Torchwood would later play a major role in the series as a covert organization above government jurisdiction that used alien technology against foes and often resorted to violence to solve problems. Interestingly, Captain Jack Harkness later became a key member of Torchwood.

To be fair, some of Rose’s not-so-great moments were justified by her circumstances. When The Doctor encounters past companion Sarah Jane Smith in “School Reunion,” Rose discovers she is not the first person to travel with The Doctor. This leads to a war of (ageist) words between Sarah Jane and Rose which Sarah Jane initiated when she said Rose wouldn’t know about dissecting an animal because she hadn’t made it to that level of school. She snipply asked Rose “how old are you anyway?” before Rose said animals are dissected in schools anymore and asked Sarah if she was from the Dark Ages. The pair got into a one-up match about their travels with The Doctor but Sarah Jane quickly ended the argument because she knew how intense a relationship can be with The Doctor. A part of their banter takes place in front of Mickey, who convinced Rose and The Doctor to investigate strange happenings at a local school. Rose confronted The Doctor about her fate with him and questioned how he could drop Sarah Jane if he cared about her. He tried to explain how hard it would be for him to watch a companion grow old and die while he continues to live, calling it the “curse of the Time Lord.” This episode was when The Doctor realized the extent of Rose’s unhealthy attachment to him but he was already more emotionally invested than he is willing to admit. “School Reunion” concluded with Rose having a change of heart about Sarah Jane and taking her advice to travel with The Doctor because it is worth an eventual broken heart. However, Rose still believed youth she would be “different” than the others and travel with The Doctor forever. She is also upset when Mickey asks to join them in the TARDIS, a move prompted by his “tin dog” conversation with Sarah Jane. Rose’s heart is put to the test in the following episode (“The Girl in the Fireplace”) when The Doctor develops a brief romance with Madame de Pompadour. He jumps through a mirror to save Reinette, leaving Rose and Mickey abandoned on a spaceship, despite not having a plan for how to get back to his companions. Rose stares in shock at a wall as Mickey looks on sadly, horrified that The Doctor chose Reinette, but he finds a way back to her and she forgives him.

Nine & Ten and Mickey (plus goodbye to Rose)

While Nine and Mickey had their moments of poking fun and bumping heads, Ten and Rose’s treatment of Mickey was terrible. Rose consistently sent Mickey mixed signals throughout her time with The Doctor, flirting with him and saying she missed him, but acting in ways which suggested otherwise. She called for him when she needed him and strung him along, knowing he didn’t have the courage to leave her for good. In “School Reunion,” Sarah Jane Smith tells Mickey that The Doctor and Rose treat him like a third wheel – or in her words “the tin dog.” The Doctor and Rose have depended on his skills before but they ridiculed him for expressing fear because he was not as well versed in alien affairs. When the Tenth Doctor assigned tasks, Mickey was always an afterthought and often relegated to being the watchdog. At the beginning of “The Rise of the Cybermen,” Mickey had been holding down a button on the TARDIS console for a half an hour while Ten and Rose reminisced over the good times. He realized they forgot about him and once again felt resentful of their relationship.

After the TARDIS fell out of the time vortex onto a parallel Earth, Rose wanted to chase after that world’s version of her deceased father, who was a successful businessman. Mickey discovered his parallel grandmother was alive as well and they both went separate ways to explore this new world against The Doctor’s wishes. As Ten stood in the middle, Mickey said the Doctor will always choose Rose because he was just a spare part. Rose, who was in earshot of this conversation, said nothing and left Mickey on his own. Rose began to tell The Doctor about Mickey’s origins and his grandmother’s death and admitted they take Mickey for granted. However, neither one of them comes to his defense in “The Age of Steel.” Mickey meets Ricky – the parallel him who is a braver “freedom fighter” – and Ricky dies in an encounter with the Cybermen. Ricky’s best friend Jake insulted Mickey in front of a group, telling him that he was nothing. The Doctor simply said they should move on and Rose remained silent again. As the group surmised a plan, Ten inadvertently left Mickey out of the plan. Mickey insisted on taking a major role in disabling a transmitter and said days of being the “tin dog” are over and as he ran off with Jake. After successfully destroying an EarPod transmitter on a zeppelin, Mickey made a wise decision to stay in parallel Earth and travel with Jake to liberate other cities. Rose was sad about losing Mickey, but realized there is nothing left between them anymore.

Mickey’s short time with The Doctor and Sarah Jane’s influence led to him being the true winner in the TARDIS trio. Before he traveled in the TARDIS, Mickey had settled with his life and become comfortable. But The Doctor’s relationship with Rose forced him out of his comfort zone and gave him a chance to expand his horizons. He had just enough exposure to The Doctor to realize his true worth and tap into his full potential. Sarah Jane also gave him the boost he needed to get out of his own way and experience life in the TARDIS. And, getting to see Rose and Ten fawning over each other was the push he need to release his feelings for Rose and move forward with a brand new life on another Earth. Mickey Smith’s arc from being a bumbling boyfriend who called The Doctor a “thing” to a man liberating cities from Cybermen was an incredible development. Unfortunately, audiences didn’t get to see Mickey’s progression during his travels with Jake. When Mickey made a brief return in “Army of Ghosts/Doomsday” he was a smarter, more valiant hero who ran toward danger. He realized how The Doctor had helped him become better and helped to save the Earth from millions of Cybermen. He had gained everyone’s respect and had no intentions to pick up where he left off on regular Earth or in Rose’s life, even after she ended up stranded on parallel Earth.

In “Doomsday,” Jackie was horrified when Rose chose to return to regular Earth instead of seeking safety in parallel Earth. The Doctor warned Rose that she would never be able to see her mother again if she stayed with him as he closed the void between the worlds. Rose said she made her decision to stay with The Doctor a long time ago and willingly gave up her mom for The Doctor. Love was powerful, but Rose didn’t even take a minute to say goodbye to one of the most important people in her life. Rose was swept away during a plan to trap the Daleks in a void and caught by Pete, who saved her from being caught in the void. Mickey, Jake, and Jackie stood silently as Rose mourned The Doctor. Mickey and Jackie continued to support Rose as they made a life on parallel Earth. This marked the end of Rose’s consistent time with The Doctor, although she made a brief return later in the series. She eventually got closure with The Doctor, who left her with a war version of himself on parallel Earth. This was an awful decision by The Doctor for a few reasons. First, Rose had spent lots of time and effort to reunite with him. Second, the “metacrisis” Doctor wouldn’t have been any more dangerous on “regular” Earth than he was on parallel Earth. And, he didn’t give Rose a chance to make a decision about traveling with him again. He prompted the metacrisis Doctor to tell Rose he loved her and he sneakily disappeared in the TARDIS forever. His decision probably hurt Rose once again because she said she wanted to be with him. Mickey’s ending was much better; he got to spend time with his parallel grandmother before joining Rose and The Doctor for one last adventure. He played a hand in saving the day one more time before meeting Rose’s replacement companion, Martha Jones, marrying her, and starting a life as a freelance alien hunter.

Ten and Martha

Martha Jones’ time in the TARDIS picked up soon after the Tenth Doctor lost Rose. Unlike Rose, Martha was from an upper middle class background and secure with her life while she worked in residency at a local hospital. Martha was the first full-time Black companion in Doctor Who who was specifically written to be a Black woman.

While Mickey traveled with The Doctor, he was written through a colorblind lens, so his race was never addressed in the plot. However, Martha being a Black woman wasdiscussed during her time as a companion.

Martha didn’t need to be “saved” but she welcomed a break from her regularly scheduled programming. She was immediately taken by Ten’s charismatic ways and followed him soon after they met. From her first episode (“Smith and Jones”), Martha’s problem solving abilities were put into the spotlight as she fielded several phone calls from disagreeing family members while on her way to work. Her curiosity, intelligence, and calm demeanor impressed The Doctor as her hospital was abruptly transported to the moon. The medical student gave The Doctor her last breath at the end of the episode because she believed in his ability to save the day. Despite his flirty nature, The Doctor was still reeling from Rose’s departure. His love hangover was trumped by his intense loneliness and he offered Martha a trip in the TARDIS. Her one time trip in the TARDIS led to a couple of years worth of adventures together as Martha faced several difficulties.

The Doctor treated Martha similar to Mickey (minus the intelligence insults) by putting her in Rose’s shadow. In their first TARDIS adventure, “The Shakespearean Code” he looked Martha in the eye and said that he KNEW Rose would have the answer for what they should do next. It was the first of several moments when The Doctor would bring up Rose or mention her in front of Martha and make her feel inferior. He turned a blind eye to her romantic feelings for him and used Martha to fill an emotional void left by Rose. He even took her to New Earth, the same place he went on his “first date” with Rose Tyler as his current incarnation.

After four adventures, The Doctor abruptly dropped her off in her living room with intentions on leaving her forever. He quickly returned and managed to win over her sister in “The Lazarus Experiment” as the trio worked together to bring down her shady boss, whose DNA altering machine has sinister effects. However, this doesn’t stop Martha’s mother from being highly suspicious of The Doctor and wanting her to stay away from him. As Martha jumped into action to help The Doctor against Lazarus, her mother said the monster would kill her if she went back to help. Martha told her that she didn’t care and she wouldn’t leave The Doctor. Martha’s mother was also approached in the same episode by a man who warned her about The Doctor being a dangerous person. This makes her feel concerned for Martha and causes contention between them throughout the episode. However, Martha’s defiance came from a more respectful place, whereas Rose had a more caustic approach toward her mother over The Doctor. Martha almost left The Doctor because she didn’t want to be a random passenger, but he convinced her to continue traveling with him. Martha was deeply infatuated with The Doctor at this point, so she was delighted to be thought of as “more than just a passenger.”

Her contributions to conflict were often thankless, but her belief in The Doctor and what he stood for from a universal perspective kept her around. She found herself in racist settings more than once and was even left to her own devices in “Human Nature/Family of Blood” when The Doctor had to disguise himself as a human. While he ended up as a professor at a boys school, Martha was a maid, which would have been customary for a Black woman at an all-White school in 1913. She endured mistreatment from The Doctor as John Smith, other staff, and the boys at the school but she continued to protect The Doctor and keep his essence safe in the fob watch. The Doctor repaid her by dreaming of Rose and falling in love with a woman at the school, thereby crushing Martha’s heart once again. By the end of this story, The Doctor started recognizing Martha’s value as a companion.

Unrequited love aside, Martha was a brilliant companion whose intelligence, self confidence, and bravery shined in every situation as she made careful decisions, often while being left to her own devices. She loved Ten but she never became so absorbed that she lost herself while traveling in the TARDIS. Martha gained a universal perspective of the world around her and acquired expertise which would help her take her career to unimaginable heights. She often used her skills as a medical student to help others and managed to bring down one of The Doctor’s nemesis, The Master, without timey wimey/ Time Lord magic on her side. She walked the Earth as a disciple for The Doctor, prompting the world to say his name and bring him back to form. But, in the process, Martha’s family had to endure being enslaved.

When all was right with the universe again, Martha’s work to save the world was erased from history. This tied into the erasure of Black women’s contributions to society, further diminishing Martha’s impact in the Whoniverse.

However, The Doctor thanked her for her work to save the world. He assumed they would continue their travels, but Martha had had enough of being the “replacement Rose.” She knew the sacrifices both she and her family had made because of their association with The Doctor and also realized that he would never value her in the same way as Rose. So, Martha made the decision to walk away, return to her residency, and take care of her family. Before she departed the TARDIS, she had parting words for The Doctor:

“I spent a lot of time with you thinking I was second best. But you know what? I am good.” – Martha Jones

She left a phone with The Doctor in case they need to reach each other and is seen breathing a sigh of relief as she walked out of the TARDIS. Martha’s time with The Doctor was shorter (both on screen and in estimated Earth years) than Rose and, similar to Mickey, she came out of her time in the TARDIS with a renewed perspective on the world around her. While some of her reason for leaving The Doctor was related to his unreturned affection, Martha never expressed wanting to travel with The Doctor forever. She was in it for the adventure, but had intentions on returning to her family and pursuing her education. She became Dr. Martha Jones, the badass UNIT employee (later Torchwood) with masterful skills in medicine and otherworldly encounters. The Doctor felt the pain of her loss, admitting to his next companion, Donna Noble, that Martha was brilliant and he “destroyed her.” Martha herself came back for a couple of stories during Donna’s run, but she had changed into a much more authoritative figure who had long gotten over her crush on The Doctor. She was now a Doctor and her focus was doing whatever it took to help save Earth.

Ten and Donna

Donna Noble’s first time in the TARDIS took place during a one off adventure (“The Runaway Bride“)before The Doctor met Martha. After the Tenth Doctor burned up a sun to say goodbye to Rose, Donna suddenly appeared in the impenetrable TARDIS wearing a wedding dress. The Doctor’s sadness turned to curiosity as he returned the scared woman back to Earth to figure out how the hell she got into his spaceship. Unlike her predecessors, Donna was a bit older woman who worked as a temp and was not attracted to The Doctor. She was oblivious to the previous alien happenings on Earth because she was caught up in her own world. Donna lived with her belittling mother and optimistic grandfather who encouraged her to find her spark again. Her encounter with The Doctor allowed her to discover several sides of his character – fun, rage, loneliness, and unpredictability. After discovering Donna was a pawn in a scheme by the Racnoss, The Doctor’s fury took over and he nearly killed himself while punishing the alien race until Donna told him to stop. His feelings were hurt by Donna when she rejected his offer for a spot in the TARDIS. However, Donna promised to “do something” with her life and asked The Doctor to find someone so he would not be alone.

Two years passed and Donna was back into the same rut. She regretted her decision to not travel with The Doctor and began to investigate paranormal activities in hopes of meeting him again. Donna finally struck gold in “Partners In Crime” when they crossed paths at Adipose Industries to figure out why a popular fat pill was making cellulite literally walk away. At the end, Donna had her bags packed and was ready to go with The Doctor, but he warned her that he just wanted a platonic traveling partner. She hilariously tells him she’s not romantically attracted to him because he’s too skinny.

Donna’s character had already shown significant growth from her first appearance, where she was screeching at The Doctor and freaked out by all things alien. She hadn’t lost her edge and outspokenness, but her mind was more open to traveling. Her compassionate nature and ability to be an ally for those who were suffering was seen in “Fires of Pompeii” when she convinced The Doctor to save just one family. “Planet of the Ood” also showed a more sensitive side to Donna as she wept over the Ood being enslaved and abused by humans. She was shocked to see so much evil in the universe, yet she continued to travel with The Doctor because there was still beauty and wonder in her experience.

The Doctor and Donna teamed up with Dr. Martha Jones after she called him back to Earth to help fight the Sontarans. Martha had changed dramatically, sporting an all Black UNIT uniform, a weapon, and an engagement ring. Donna and Martha had a great repertoire and bonded over their experiences with The Doctor. However, Donna was concerned about how The Doctor’s effect on Martha and made a remark about her being a full-blown soldier. Martha offered Donna sage advice about what happens when a person gets too close to The Doctor:

“…you need to be careful, because you know The Doctor’s wonderful and he’s brilliant, but he’s like fire. Stand too close and people get burned.” -Martha Jones

As Donna continued to travel with The Doctor, she offered him what he needed – a friendship with someone who would challenge his decisions. Donna developed into a fearless, witty, and knowledgeable woman who helped liberate other species across time and space. Her praises were sung by the Ood, statues were erected in her image, and she had become much more confident in who she was as a woman. When all of The Doctor’s previous companions and associates came together for the series 4 two part finale (“The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End”) Donna saved them all by touching The Doctor’s severed hand, creating a meta crisis Doctor, and using his knowledge along with her humanity to save the universe. Sadly, it was too much for her brain and The Doctor wiped her memory to save her in one of the saddest scenes in modern Doctor Who.

Donna did not want to go back to the person she was before and wanted to continue on with The Doctor, but she ended up losing all memories of her adventures. Her fear of regression showed how she was aware of The Doctor’s positive influence on her personal growth.

Donna’s story brings up the always cautionary tale about how all is well with traveling in the TARDIS until it doesn’t end well.

Despite a glum ending to their time together, Donna is last seen remarried and gifted with a winning lottery ticket from The Doctor. While it may seem her time with The Doctor was in vain, Donna’s impact on him and others across the universe means she was an powerful companion. After losing Donna and letting his other companions resume their lives, the Tenth Doctor decided to be alone until he (reluctantly) regenerated alone.

Part Two!

The Russell T. Davies era seems to prove that a companion’s wisest decision may be deciding to walk away from The Doctor. But, can a companion stay for a while and still come out a winner? Can a TARDIS traveler balance life with The Doctor and a regular existence? Part 2 will explore those questions by examining Amy Pond and Clara Oswald.

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After years of controversy about casting Scarlett Johansson in the Dreamworks/Paramount live action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell, the film opened this month to lackluster reviews and poor box office numbers due to moviegoers’ frustrations with the whitewashing of its main character (Major Motoko Kusanagi/Mira Killian). Dawn Xiana Moon and Michi Trota share their differing takes on the film from the perspective of two Asian-American women with a fondness for the 1995 anime.

Michi: I was a bright eyed college freshman when I saw the original Ghost in the Shell anime. We rented a beat-up VHS (subtitled, not dubbed) from Tower Records in Boston (RIP), and crowded into my teeny dorm room to watch the movie on my old 27” tube TV.

Even though I’m sure I missed a lot of the finer details and subtext, I still remember being struck by the deep philosophical questions about humanity, individual identity, and technology that GitS attempted to tackle. Not only was it hauntingly beautiful (and at times viscerally disturbing) to watch, the story wove a complex dialog about the boundaries between humanity and technology, and where individuality begins and ends.

While Motoko is the main character, the 1995 GitS isn’t so much about her individual journey as it is about what insights her journey reveals about the nature of humanity in a world where technology can either augment or replace not only the human body, but the human mind as well. The result is an unsettling and challenging spectacle that clearly resonated with audiences for over 20 years.

By flipping the story to focus on Mira’s (Motoko) individual journey to awareness, Paramount’s adaptation of GitS manages to strip away everything that made the original so appealing, exchanging it for yet another banal — but visually gorgeous — revenge story about a hero done wrong by an evil organization. Mira’s mysterious past turns out to be a fabrication, and the antagonist she’s hunting down turns out to be another victim of corporate malfeasance and unethical science, rather than an artificial mind that wishes for human mortality. In short order, Mira and her team have no choice but to go rogue in order to find the truth and get justice.

It’s a story that we’ve seen countless times before, one that’s particularly Western in its focus on the triumph of rugged individualism. Multiple shots of Johansson stoically staring into the distance and musing about how “different” and “lonely” she feels in a cybernetic body aren’t nearly enough to convey larger themes of technology’s effect on the humanity and the concept of individuality.

By making Mira unique in her ability to have a fully integrated human mind in a cybernetic body (this wasn’t the case in the 1995 anime, where there were others like her), as well as her retaining her individual identity rather than merging with Kuze (Motoko chose to merge with the Puppet Master), any questions about the nature of humanity and how our evolution may be affected by our relationship with technology is virtually absent in this version of GitS, much to the film’s detriment.

It’s adding insult to the injury that is Paramount’s whitewashing of Motoko by not only re-casting her as a white woman, Scarlett Johansson, in a particularly wooden performance, but by also literally making whitewashing the root of Mira’s story. Mira was originally a young Japanese dissident woman, named Motoko Kusanagi, in what was clearly Paramount’s attempt at a clever nod to the original but comes off as especially condescending, who was taken by a greedy white corporate mogul and white scientist so that her brain could be transplanted into a cybernetic body, a successful merging of technology and flesh that heralds the next evolution of humanity.

Naturally, that cybernetic body wears the face of a white woman. In effect, it’s pulling a Reverse Psylocke on Motoko/Mira, a narrative choice that’s breathtaking in its blatant ignorance of white supremacy and cultural context. This same whitewashed fate was presumably forced upon Kuze, the other major character, as well, whose current body wears a white face but whose mind originally belonged to a young man named Hideo.

This choice to have people of color living within white bodies poisons the entire film, because there’s no escaping the subtext that even in this futuristic world where miraculous things are possible, the culmination of human evolution apparently wears a white face with a mind that’s been wiped of her ethnic identity. If the aim of the story was to comment on how white supremacy abuses POC bodies and twists our minds to idealize and internalize whiteness out of a sense of entitlement to our entire selves, it missed. Horribly. Instead, GitS’s narrative is the concept of how “not seeing race” always defaults to “white” writ large.

It’s all a damn shame because aesthetically, GitS is beautifully rendered, full of glorious futuristic neon signs and holographic 3D ads amidst shining towers of metal and glass, with subtle callbacks to dystopian science fiction classics like Bladerunner. Seeing the film in IMAX 3D certainly enhanced those visuals and the 3D was seamlessly integrated. The action sequences are perfectly serviceable, and the visuals of Kuze’s broken and exposed cybernetic form, juxtaposed against Mira’s smooth and seamless body, manage to evoke that same feeling of discomfort and Otherness that permeated the original anime (the scene in which Kuze removes part of Mira’s cybernetic face is chillingly rendered). Batou (Pilou Asbæk) and Chief Aramaki (Takeshi Kitano) were absolutely delightful, Aramaki in particular – Johansson could learn a lot from Kitano about how microexpressions actually work.

But for all its visual splendor, whitewashing and Orientalism are irredeemably at the heart of GitS. While the setting is still supposed to be a futuristic Japanese city, and there are Asians and other POC seen on Mira’s team and in the city, there’s no ignoring that the majority of the principal players in this story are all white: Mira, Kuze, Dr. Ouelet, Cutter, even Batou. Stripped of the specific cultural context of Japanese society’s reinvention of itself post-WWII and its resulting unique relationship with technology, this incarnation of GitS’s narrative about corporate malfeasance and stolen identity is, pardon the pun, a mere ghost of the original.

The insistence that GitS needed to be funneled through an American lens with a bankable (read: white) star, despite the popularity of the original that made it a tantalizing property in the first place, leaves the unmistakable stench of “We like your stuff, just not you” that has permeated so many offerings from Hollywood for decades, not just in the last few months (although Doctor Strange, Great Wall, Iron Fist, and Death Note immediately come to mind).

It’s one more reminder that Asians & Asian Americans are Other, that we’re expendable, and once white supremacy has taken what it wants from us, our erasure on the altar of Orientalism is still an acceptable practice in American media. Let me be clear, because apparently there’s still a temptation to avoid acknowledging that whitewashing (not “controversy” or “claims” about whitewashing) is a problem in this movie: Ghost in the Shell failed because whitewashing IS bad writing. And all the gorgeous visuals and well-choreographed action sequences in the world aren’t worth overlooking that fact anymore — if they ever were worth it. Ultimately, the choice to whitewash Motoko and GitS’s narrative itself tanked what could have otherwise been an enjoyable, if pedestrian, B-level movie.

Michi’s Verdict: Give it a hard pass and just treat yourself to a rewatch of the 1995 anime instead. For bonus points, try Jennifer Phang’s brilliant Advantageous for a masterful examination of technology, individual identity, and family sacrifice.

Dawn: I was surprised: I didn’t hate Ghost in the Shell.

Granted, the bar was low.

As an audience member, I never want to hate the thing I’m watching – I’d rather spend my time supporting art that challenges, that inspires, that connects. As an Asian-American and critic, I was fully prepared to hate Ghost in the Shell. After two years of controversy and months of ever-more-ludicrous news about Scarlett Johansson’s character – her name is Major, no, it’s Mira, but don’t worry, Johansson would never “attempt to play a person of a different race” – and slogging through 13 episodes of Orientalism and awful writing in recently-released Iron Fist, I expected a disaster. To my surprise, I didn’t find one. What I found was a very Hollywood retelling of a very Japanese story, with all the mixed results that entails.

I was born in Singapore, where the population is 80% ethnically Chinese. We have ethnic minorities there too – the country has four national languages. When I started kindergarten, I was surrounded by media that looked like me – Chinese women were featured in ads, television shows, music, and film. When I moved to Michigan at the age of five, I was a foreigner – growing up, I remember how notable it was to see any variety of Asian, let alone Chinese-Americans in anything. These days it’s still rare: a study from USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism noted that of the top 100 films in 2015, not a single one featured an Asian lead. Half the films didn’t even have an Asian character.

Given all of these things, Asian representation in Hollywood carries a very different weight in Asia than it does in the US. Asians in Asia – who, one must remember, aren’t a monolith – watch Hollywood films and expect them to be white because America is white (obviously, this impression isn’t entirely reflective of reality, but it’s one that the media we export supports). Asians in Asia aren’t looking to Hollywood to make sense of themselves or their stories – they have media that performs that function already, and if they’re part of the group that is the majority in their country, they’re used to being dominant. That’s why Ghost in the Shell creator Mamoru Oshii can make statements saying, “There is no basis for saying that an Asian actress must portray [the Major].”

Asian-Americans, on the other hand, aren’t reflected in Asian media or American media – we don’t exist. Our stories aren’t told. We’re desperate to be seen, to be treated as something more than invisible. Hollywood whitewashing hurts us because we never see ourselves reflected as fully-realized people. Which leads to us forgetting that we can be fully-realized people.

If Ghost in the Shell was created in a vacuum, the story of a cyborg wrestling with her humanity and uniqueness would have felt generic, but serviceable enough to gird stunning visual effects, cinematography, and art direction. Director Rupert Sanders and team clearly did their homework – so many shots here were lovingly crafted recreations of shots from the 1995 anime, and the film is beautiful.

Within the confines of the film, the fact that Major Mira Killian turns out to be a memory-suppressed Motoko Kusanagi, now a young, dissident runaway rather than the lifelong special ops police officer of the anime, is a twist that recalls Robocop, and one that highlights the fact that the Major’s robotic body is owned by an evil corporation intent on using her, regardless of consent. It’s not a particularly creative story, but it works.

However, art – even pop art – does not exist in a vacuum.

Context matters. And in context, the entire plot of Ghost in the Shell is a justification for casting a white actress in a Japanese role. It’s as though the story was a direct response to the criticism levied from both the fan and Asian-American communities: “We had to cast a white actress, but it’s OK because it’s important to the story and look, she’s actually Japanese underneath!”

Similarly, the attitude of the Hollywood version changes dramatically from the 1995 anime. Hollywood is concerned with fast pacing, quick cuts, and, like American society, individuality. The Major’s story here is that of a single woman wrestling with what it means to be the only one of her kind, and whether being a cyborg makes her human or not; Hanaka Robotics wants to protect her as an investment, as property, because she’s the first successful experiment in putting a human brain into a cybernetic body. She’s crafted to be a weapon.

The anime, on the other hand, like the society it comes from, is more interested in collective identity – the Major is one of many, and putting a “ghost” into a “shell” isn’t unusual. As a rule, Asian societies think more communally than Western ones – they’re more concerned about families and countries than they are about individuals. Thus the anime is more philosophical: “Overspecialize,” it says, “and you breed weakness.” Evolution is necessary, and many parts are needed to make a whole that thrives. The anime also asks what constitutes sentient life, what the implications are for society when technology makes renders bodies interchangeable. Can a machine have a soul?

Dawn’s Verdict: Viewed charitably, the live action adaptation was a typical Hollywood blockbuster set in a meticulously-crafted cyberpunk world. Viewed more harshly, the film borrows the trappings of the 1995 anime but loses its soul. It’s as though the filmmakers kept the shell, but switched the ghost.